Welcome to Xavier's School
by TheCeruleanQuill
Summary: A teen runaway is approached by Jean Grey and Hank McCoy to enroll at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. While finding her feet, she discovers a classmate's secret. The Christmas trip bringing treats to the Morlocks ends in a confrontation with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Feat ProfX, Hank, Angel, Rogue, & Gambit
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

A sheet of discarded newspaper skittered down the street in the breeze, clinging to the gutter as if to avoid the bitter autumn chill. A girl picked it up. She was wary, hungry, and perhaps a little smelly. Her eyes scanned yesterday's news:

_Albany Gazette _(it read):

_NO SIGN OF MISSING LOCAL GIRL_

_Police are asking for any information regarding the last known whereabouts and activities of Eleanor Mae McCloud, aged 17, of northern Albany. She disappeared three weeks ago somewhere between her High School and her home. There are some unconfirmed reports of an altercation with a dangerous mutant or mutants …_

Ellie couldn't bear to read any further. It would only go on to the heartbreaking pleas of her parents for news, any news, of their daughter. Ellie's chest was tight with unspent emotion as she crumpled the newspaper and stuffed it between her jean jacket and sweater. The first thing she learned on the street was how cold upstate New York got over night, even in October, and how to counter it. Newspaper was a good insulator. Trashcans behind restaurants and grocery stores were often full of perfectly good food. Bathing could be had, after a fashion, in public toilets. Thank God for paper towels and liquid soap, she thought wryly.

Nobody, not her parents or friends or teachers, had the slightest clue that the "dangerous mutant or mutants unknown" was, in fact, Ellie herself. For three years she had kept the secret that, when she got too angry, or scared, or anything, something silver burst from her hands and, usually, caused devastation to whatever it touched. She had learned to control if from almost the first incident, and no one, not even her family, knew.

It hadn't been easy to learn that sort of discipline at the age of 14, but anti-mutant hysteria had been huge then. Some terrorist mutant gang (called Morporks, or something) had just blown up a New York City subway. Lots of people had died. The Senate was pushing the Mutant Registration Act, while the House struggled to restrain it with amendments. Even the President didn't seem to know where she stood on the mutant issue. So when Ellie had accidentally incinerated the break-up note from her first boyfriend, she knew no one could know.

That was easier said than done. The older she got, the easier it was for the silver to flow from her. When she was 16, it happened almost without provocation. Finally, when that cow Michelle Green started a fight over some stupid boy Ellie didn't even like, Ellie lost it in public. Incandescent silver burst from her hands, still clenched in tight fists at her sides, and exploded in a blinding blast. Everyone was stunned, but no one more than Ellie, who took the moment of temporary blindness to sprint from the scene. She hadn't gone home.

Ellie didn't want to think of herself as dangerous, but she couldn't deny the evidence of three journals detonating as she poured her angst into them. There wasn't any escaping what she was, especially since Michelle Green had needed stitches from knocking her dumb head on the sidewalk when she fell in the blast that had outed Ellie. What would her parents have thought? She couldn't face telling them. They were so proud of her: a 3.3 GPA, a volleyball player, an all-around American girl. She had posters of Johnny Depp on her wall and a guitar in her closet. She couldn't imagine her parents reconciling that with the dangerous rogue who had put her classmate in the hospital.

Aside from the shame and disappointment she couldn't bear to give them, there was the risk to consider. Ellie couldn't control it, couldn't stop it or prevent it. Her explosions were powerful and unpredictable. Ellie couldn't bear to put her family and friends at risk. And the protection of her loved ones was the ultimate variable. She left, vowing never to return.

Since that incident three weeks ago, she had wandered the streets of Albany. She hid in the day while her face stared out from "missing child" posters. At night, she scavenged for food and avoided the other street people, who were usually addicts or schitzoids and always a bit scary. She was getting good at finding safe sleeping places. Once she got locked in the public library overnight. That had been her most comfortable night yet. She was going to try that again soon. Maybe, if she was lucky, it would become her second home. It was nice: warm, clean, full of couches and bedtime stories. She didn't have a plan for the next week, let alone the rest of her life, but she was surviving, much to her own surprise. That would have to do.

She straightened and looked around at a sudden noise. Moving with a crinkly sound from her newspaper-filled jacket, she headed towards raised voices. They were coming from a dark alley. She had a feeling the scene would be familiar, and it was. This was her secret career, after all. In the alley, a teen with lots of jewellery and fancy sneakers was waving a knife at a terrified man in a business suit. Ellie approached from behind the teen. The business man didn't register her presence; he was too busy keeping his eyes on the blade as he fumbled in his satchel.

"Hand it over," the teen said in a voice surprisingly deep. Without thought, Ellie raised her hands and shot silver at the mugger. He was knocked senseless to the ground with the sound of a small crack, like a baseball bat connecting. The businessman squeaked in fear, threw his wallet at Ellie, and sprinted out the far end of the alley.

Ellie grabbed the wallet as she stood over the form of the stunned criminal. Not a bad result, she mused. She hadn't robbed anyone and she had a wallet to show for it. (Her morals had altered quite a bit after her first night of real hunger and cold.) She opened the wallet- family photos, credit cards, driver's license, and- Yes! Two hundred bucks cash! _Food, here I come_, she thought. And there was enough for a motel room: hot shower, lock on the door, free shampoo and TV! Of course she'd also use some on bus fare to put the wallet (minus the cash) in the owner's mailbox- she wasn't a monster.

First things first though- Taco Bell was cheap, filling, and relatively nutritious. The 99 cent menu was in her immediate future. As she started out for the nearest Taco Bell, she was unaware of the two people who had silently witnessed the whole thing- people who followed her from the alley.

She first noticed them as she stood in line waiting for her burrito. It was hardly possible not to see them: the man was absurdly large, with huge hands and feet and unexpected amount of grace for a man his size. The woman might have been pretty but unremarkable, except for her wealth of long, flaming red hair. They both seemed well off and young, in their twenties: perhaps with the University. Ellie remembered with a pang that she would never go to college. The man chatted away, telling jokes and anecdotes, and while the woman smiled and even laughed, mostly she just listened. Ellie pigeon-holed them as a new couple and put them from her mind.

She saw them again, though, at the library. The redhead was browsing through CDs as Ellie google-mapped the businessman's address, and the large man flipped through a book on advanced chemistry. They didn't follow her out of the library, but she saw them leave the building as she hopped on the bus to the businessman's suburb. The large man held the car door for the redhead. Ellie envied them their casual dinner date, and idly wondered if the redhead was going to be dropped off or go home with the gentle giant.

Returning the wallet didn't go well. The man didn't have a mailbox but a slot in the front door, and if Ellie had any sense she would have waited till night time to approach. Still, she pushed the wallet through the mail slot as soon as she reached the house. A woman opened the door just as Ellie was turning away.

"Oh, wait! Wait a minute! We want to thank you! I can't believe you came all the way out here to turn it in! Harry lost it down town and we've been cancelling credit cards all afternoon. It's a shame about the cash but I'm glad some nice person found it at all-" Mrs Harry paused and took in Ellie's rumpled appearance before she continued "-and of course if the money went to a good cause we'd be only too happy about that, too. Won't you come inside and have dinner with us?" And before Ellie could answer, or even get a word in, the woman was shouting into the house, "Harry, come here, this girl just brought your wallet back! Come say thank you!"

Ellie got a look at a very relieved, happy man, and had started to smile back at him, before he recognised her. His face twisted in fear, he snatched his wife away from the doorway and slammed the door in Ellie's face. A muffled fight came through the mail slot, starting with 'ingrate' and ending in 'mutant'.

"You're welcome," Ellie called bitterly through the door. She turned and stalked back towards the bus stop, wondering how long she'd have to wait for a bus in this depressingly middle class suburb (which reminded her painfully of home). Kicking her feet at the rungs on the bench, arms folded across her chest against he cold, Ellie saw a familiar car pull up not ten feet away. Her jaw almost hit the floor as she saw the big man and redheaded woman emerge. This was unnerving, even more so as they sat next to her on the bench by the bus stop. There was a pregnant silence.

"That was a very nice thing you did about the wallet," the redhead said in a soft voice. She smiled at Ellie. Ellie jumped, and quickly stood up. Complement notwithstanding, these two were obviously following her. Lifetime Original Movies about kidnapped kids and runaways suddenly filled her head and she backed away.

"I don't want any trouble," she mumbled, hands suddenly clenched and ready at her sides. "I just want to be left alone."

"I suspect you would actually prefer a bit more than solitude, like a warm bed and three meals a day," the large man said with a grin. Perhaps aware of his own intimidating nature, he stayed a comfortable distance from her. The woman stood and approached Ellie slowly, palms out, as if she were coaxing a stray dog.

"You're scared, and that's okay. You don't know us and you have no reason to trust us. How about we go somewhere and talk? Somewhere public, lots of people. We'll buy you dinner." She smiled encouragingly. "I know you won't believe it, but we've both been exactly where you are now. Struggling with the same situation. Please, let us help you." Ellie knew she shouldn't trust strangers, particularly strangers interested in getting a known mutant by herself- but then, they had said "in public", and Ellie's stomach was rumbling hopefully at the offer of dinner.

"I'm taking the bus back to the library," she said warily. "If I see you outside the Taco Bell there, maybe-"

"You don't really want fast food, do you? Come on, we're buying. How does steak sound?" Steak sounded amazing, and her stomach loudly told them so. The big guy laughed, then looked sheepish for laughing.

"We'll take that as a yes. Our car is all heated up, come on." The woman was so inviting, it was as if a voice in Ellie's head was encouraging her to trust them. Ellie felt her common sense giving way.

"Who are you?" she asked, as the redhead led her to the shiny car.

"My name is Jean Grey, and this is Hank McCoy. What do you call yourself?" Something about how Jean phrased the question convinced Ellie that Jean and Hank really had been in her place once. She smiled without humour.

"Call me Silver," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

"Wait, hang on," Silver mumbled around her mouthful of steak. "I don't get it. Where does the funding come from? Did Xavier win the lottery?" Hank grinned.

"The professor had a lucrative career before he opened his school and he… invested wisely. He could support the school off of the interest of his balance alone."

"What, even scholarship cases like me?"

"We've got quite a few students whose parents regard our school for the gifted on a par with any other private boarding prep school, and pay accordingly. It all evens out in the end." Jean smiled with a twinkle in her eye. "I spent my first summer as a graduate designing our pamphlets. I'm still proud of the logo."

"So, just to recap, I get to live in a dorm, finish high school, and then at the end I'm allowed to stay on or take off, which ever I want? And it's all free?"

"You got it,"

"What about clothes and… stuff? I'll need some money of my own. Can I get a job serving in the cafeteria or something?"

"There are all kinds of options, but students do get a small stipend for the necessities," Jean assured her.

"Of course, for more extravagant purchases, you'll need an after school job," Hank said with a grin. Despite his monstrous size, Hank was so smart, gentle, and funny that Silver felt herself taking to him almost more than Jean.

"What are my odds of going to college afterwards?" Silver asked, her pre-mutant dreams reasserting themselves.

"As good as your GPA allows- plus the Professor's reputation goes a long way with admissions. But you may find you want to follow a less traditional path. Your eyes will be opened to other causes that need pursuing while you're with us."

"What did you guys do?" Silver asked. They exchanged a look.

"I got a few degrees in science, considered politics, and eventually decided to stick with the Prof," Hank said, slurping his drink. "Technically I'm a teacher. If you enrol, you'll have me for Chem, Physics, all the sciences."

"I don't have Hank's flair for the academic," Jean said with a rueful smile. "I'm a part time teacher- you might call my lessons Specialised Phys Ed. I counsel the female students. And the rest of the time…" she trailed off and looked at Hank, who furrowed his brow. Something seemed to pass between them.

"Let's save some of this for later. What do you think about the school?"

"Honestly? It all sounds way too good to be true. But I've just eaten a steak and you're still here. So it can't be a dream." Silver grinned.

Hank chuckled. "Nope, not a dream. I was surprised at the Professor's project myself, but he's a genius in more ways than one. If you decide later on you want out, you are always free to go. It isn't a jail."

Silver swirled the last of her salad around in dressing drops on the plate, thinking. An independently wealthy professor who opened a school for freaks and had a scholarship waiting for her, right here in upstate New York. How had she never heard of this before? It couldn't be real- but then that same nudging in her mind that had urged her to trust Hank and Jean was encouraging her to at least visit the campus, and take her chances. This could be a shot at a normal life- something that pilfering from thieves in alleys could never offer. Instead of some twisted Spiderman character, she could be a real person. School, a job, maybe even a family some day- if the professor really could teach her to control her powers. Why not take a risk with a couple of strangers? It wasn't like she had a lot to lose.

"I'll take a look at it- if you can give me proof."

"What kind of proof did you want?" Hank asked, puzzled. "You've got the pamphlet in your hand."

"I want proof… that you guys are like me. That you can control it. And that I will too, someday. And that…" she trailed off, blushing.

"…that mutants aren't what you see on TV." Jean looked more sad than offended. "I know what the news says, but look at yourself- you're just a person who has this ability. We're all different, just people. Most of us just want to live our lives, like everyone else in the world. But I understand why you'd be concerned. Especially after the Morlock coverage." Jean pushed her cup back and stood up. "I'll show you outside. Hank will have to wait till we leave city limits to demonstrate his skills." Her smiled returned. "He's always fun to watch. Better than the Olympics any day."

Hank paid the bill while Jean and Silver stepped into the parking lot.

"I'll show you something small here, and we'll do more when we get out in the country." Jean gestured and Silver followed her gaze to the gravel bordering the asphalt. A small pebble shifted, then began to rise up. It hovered and rose higher until it was staring Silver in the face- just level with her nose, it hung suspended in the air as if weightless.

"I'm telekinetic. I move things with my mind. The professor trained me to use it. Now I don't ever have to worry about correct lifting posture ever again." And, then, as suddenly as it had risen, the pebble fell with a clack to the ground. "I have a bit of a telepathic aspect too, but it's harder to develop. Professor X says I'll get better in time."

Silver shivered. Sure, mutants were a reality, but she hadn't met any other than herself (although she had a few suspicions about some of the street people). It's one thing to know some people have power and another to see it right in front of you.

Hank stepped lightly out of the restaurant and stretched; Silver was struck again by how big he was.

"Who's driving, Jean?" He asked.

"Go ahead, speed demon," she replied with a laugh. "But if I'm sick, you know who's cleaning it!" Hank grinned at her as he unlocked the car by remote. Silver was surprised at how nice the car was inside. Sure, it looked discreet rather than flashy, but this was a top of the line car, could probably do 300 mph easily, and she couldn't identify all the buttons and knobs on the dash board.

"Man, this is like the Mach 5!" she said, sliding into the back seat.

"Do we need to pick anything up? Clothes or anything stashed somewhere?" Hank asked as he reversed out of the parking lot.

"No, there's just me." Something about saying it out loud sounded rather pathetic.

"Not for long!" Jean chirped cheerfully. "Like I said, you'll have funds to get a decent wardrobe. You'll need a coat, for one thing! And if I know Jubilee and Kitty, you won't get a choice in the matter- they'll do your shopping for you. They've been dying for someone else their age to turn up."

"Who?"

"Kitty and Jubilee, they're students- girls your age. Most of our students are a bit younger so they complain they're den mothers. They'll love another girl friend. And you may even connect with Rogue."

"I don't think we should push anyone on Rogue just yet. She needs time," Hank said with rather sad eyes. Their car whizzed passed the city limits signs for Albany, into the gold and red foliage of a rural New York autumn.

"What's wrong with Rogue?" Silver asked before she even knew who Rogue was.

"Nothing at all," Hank said cheerily. Silver thoroughly didn't believe him. Hank pulled over at a layby, and they all got out of the car.

"Why are we stopping? Is there a secret entrance to the school?"

"You said you wanted a demonstration. This is Hank's."

"I have a rather dramatic nome-de-garre," he said calmly as he removed his shoes. "I had hoped my over-developed cerebral proclivities would negate my brutish appearance, and I would be known as a brilliant thinker alone. I once dreamed of a Nobel prize by the age of 35." Now, shoeless, he walked over to a grove of trees. In a flash, before Silver could see what had happened, he was at the top of the tree. She gasped.

"Wow! So that's your power? Uber-jock?"

"My abilities are a bit more specialised than that," he mused. He flipped so that he was hanging by his knees, and then in a way Silver couldn't really comprehend, he walked- upside down- on the under side of the branch as casually as if he were on a sidewalk.

"Our experiments have found," he continued, "that I have the agility, speed, and strength of African simians, with even more prehensile feet. Imagine what I could do with a tail!" He let go of the tree branch with his feet and walked on his hands easily back to the girls. He stood, straightened his clothes, and swept an over-dramatic bow.

"In class I am Doctor McCoy, with friends I am Hank, and to some select few, and only when duty calls, I am also Beast." As she closely observed his smile, Silver noticed his lower canines were slightly overdeveloped, almost like boar's tusks.

"Shall we get home? I don't want to miss the evening recap on CSPAN."

It was night when they finally reached the gates of an isolated estate deep in the wilderness of upstate New York. There was a lot of security at the gate. Hank had to type a code as well as give voice and retinal identification before the gates swung open and the car could pull forward into the crunchy gravel drive.

"We value our security here," Jean explained. "It wouldn't be too good for anyone if someone snuck in. There are too many young mutants with over developed self-preservation skills here."

"So they are dangerous!" Silver said, almost accusatorily.

"A mutant is no more dangerous than a martial artist," Beast said sternly, in what was almost a growl. "We don't make a practice of injuring others, but we are not without resources if we're attacked. Some of our fellows have had need of self defence."

As they pulled in front of the house, Silver saw in the front door the silhouette of a bald man in a wheelchair. Though Jean hadn't described him to her, she knew in an instant that this was the Professor. Jean got out of the car.

"C'mon, we're here. Let Hank put the car away for the night."

So Silver stepped out of the car, which pulled away, and hesitantly walked to the Professor.

"We've got an inquiring mind, Professor," Jean said, smiling at him. Silver shifted uncomfortably and blushed as her newspapers audibly crinkled in her jacket.

"Welcome to Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Silver," the Professor said warmly. Silver wondered how he knew her name, and then remembered he was psychic. "I'm looking forward to showing you our home, and I hope you'll join us here. But the tour can wait for tomorrow. It's late; you must be ready for a hot shower and bed. Jean, if you'll show Silver a guest suite for tonight, and we'll see about settling her into a dorm tomorrow. Only if you want to stay, that is," he assured her.

"Of course. But, Professor, have you heard anything from the city yet?" Jean did not explain.

"Not yet," the professor said.

"But as Alexander Pope would have it, 'Hope springs eternal'," Hank offered as he came down the hall. "Professor, I wonder if I may have a quick word before you retire."

"Of course, Henry. Ladies, I'll see you in the morning. Until then." And with a smile and a nod, the professor and Hank retreated down a long hall.

"Okay, the guest suite it is!" Jean said cheerfully. Silver was shown to a large bedroom suite. It was clean and warm; there was a lock on the door. The bed looked soft and inviting and best of all was the bathroom.

"Okay, lights are here, remote for the TV, extra pillows and blankets are there, and if you pop your head in here…" Jean opened the bathroom door wide and revealed heaven.

"You've got your shower- pull the knob out to turn it on, and hot water is counter clockwise. There's a washer/drier in case you want to do your clothes too. Detergent is there. Your soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and towels are under the sink. There's a new toothbrush and toothpaste in this drawer, floss too, and anything else you could possibly want should be in the bottom drawer. If you need anything at all, call me- just pick up the phone and dial my room's extension." Jean leaned in the doorframe.

"I'll come get you around 8:30 tomorrow morning, and we'll give you breakfast and a tour. The professor will see you afterwards and answer questions. If you want to stay, we'll get you set up in a dorm. Sound good?"

Silver's head was reeling. She had had her world turned upside down just weeks ago and now it seemed about to do it again. Silver knew she needed to rest. She nodded to Jean, who seemed to understand, and closed the door behind her as she left. Silver threw the bolt- after all, she was in a strange place- stripped her filthy clothes into the washer/drier, and stepped into a steaming shower. She tried to organize her thoughts but they scampered around her head in circles. Finally, Silver fell into bed. It had been a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

In the morning, Silver dressed in her clean clothes and threw the towels, linens, and PJs she had used into the washer. She had just finished tidying the bed when there was a knock on the door.

Jean stood waiting for her in the Hallway.

"Time for the grand tour," she said, "starting with breakfast".

The dining room was right out of Harry Potter. It had once been a formal ballroom but was now full of small circular tables with 4 to 6 chairs gathered around each. The dais at the top of the room held a buffet full of breakfast food, from Cheerios to omelettes and everything in between. The seats were perhaps half full with an array of teen stereotypes. There were preps already dressed; they sipped espresso while they read the paper. Jocks still wearing Pyjama bottoms groggily chewed their Wheaties- one was wearing a beanie over his unwashed hair. One boy immediately caught Silver's eye. He sat by himself, was wearing a fully buttoned long winter coat, and had cut toast into strips, which he was dipping into the runny yolk of a soft boiled egg. All of these details seemed bizarre. There was only one other person sitting alone in the hall- a girl with a white streak in her hair and an expression that did not welcome intrusion. She looked too old to be a student.

Jean helped Silver pick a tray full of food, including fresh fruits and croissants, and led her to a table where two girls Silver's age were eating. One had curly brown hair and was wearing fuzzy slippers and pyjamas featuring the Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. The other girl was Asian and had already dressed for the day, noticeable in a canary yellow latex trench coat with chains and studs. Huge reflective sunglasses perched atop her sleek hair.

"Morning, ladies," Jean said to them. They both smiled back at her and murmured greetings. The brunette ginned in anticipation.

"Girls, this is Silver. She may join us here. Silver, this is Kitty Pryde and Jubilation Lee, otherwise Shadowcat and Jubilee. If you stick around, you'll be rooming with them."

Silver had barely said hello before Kitty was babbling away, telling Silver anything and everything she would ever need to know about life at Xavier's. She didn't talk exclusively about herself, like some insufferable chatterboxes, but she spoke about everything and everyone, flooding Silver with the names of every person in the hall as well as the location of class rooms and the nature of Mutant Phys Ed.

Kitty Pryde was 15, Silver learned, from a nuclear family in a small town in Wisconsin. When she came to Xavier's, she had told her parents it was a magnet school for young artists. They thought she sculpted. In actuality, Kitty had the ability to 'phase' through solid objects. She could walk through walls and objects could pass through her. Every so often she sent home a mangled car bumper or something to her parents, who would display it proudly in the front yard. Modern sculpture, they told their neighbours. Very sophisticated.

Jubilee didn't introduce herself as much as nod along in agreement as Kitty talked about her. She had grown up in the foster care system of NYC and had gotten into trouble with them even before her powers showed up. Xavier had recruited her when she was 13 and told Social Services she was welcome at his reform school for troubled youths, where she would have free counselling. The system was only too happy to have one less kid to worry about and Jubilee had been at Xavier's ever since, with a perfunctory call from her case worker every 6 months. Most of the chip on her shoulder had been rubbed off, Kitty said with a laugh, but she still got vicious playing video games. Jubilee shot multicoloured explosions from her hands: fireworks, for lack of a better word.

The girl sitting by herself with white streaks in her hair was Rogue. She had only been at the school a few months and had never committed to staying longer than the next day. She didn't go to classes like a student but she didn't have her own flat like the 'X Men', as Kitty called them. X Men were students who stayed on after graduation, and lived and worked at the school. People like Jean and Hank. Kitty didn't know why Rogue was there, and she looked at Jean as she said it- but Jean just shook her head wryly as if this was a long standing point of contention. Kitty wanted to know, and Jean, if she knew, wasn't telling.

The boys their age were all pretty cool but Bobby Drake was dreamy, Kitty declared. She pointed at the jock in the beanie. He was called Iceman because he could freeze water- all water, even the humidity in the air. And he could manipulate it. She told Silver all about a snow ball fight he had arranged for her birthday- which was in August. At this point, Jubilee interrupted and told Silver that Bobby had a wicked sense of humour that was heavy on practical jokes.

"Always check your shoes for ice. Always," she said sagely.

No one knew Mirage's real name other than the professor. Some days he'd say it was Chaz, others, Taylor, and a few times he claimed his mother had named him Cecil, which is why he went by Mirage. His power allowed him to create illusions that were so real you couldn't tell them from reality. He planned on a career in special effects.

"You can't trust a word he says," Kitty said, tossing her head. "He's a pathological liar."

"Actually, he just likes telling stories," Jean corrected her.

The boy on his own was Warren Worthington III, and Kitty insisted he really was as snobby as his name implied. He was, at the moment, their only international student, being from Hertfordshire, England. And he mostly kept to himself. Kitty didn't give him a nickname or describe his powers, and once again Silver perceived this was because she didn't know herself, rather than any sense of discretion. Silver got the impression that for some people, like Kitty, being a mutant was relatively simple. She didn't care who knew about her. But for others, like Rogue and Warren, things were not as simple, and they kept a great deal to themselves.

Kitty drained her milk and was just about to start extrapolating about the faculty at Xavier's when a bell rang, just like at any other high school.

"Oh man! That bell means breakfast is over and we have 30 minutes till first period. I gotta go get dressed. See you later!" And Jubilee and Kitty dumped their trays and walked from the room.

"Sorry if Kitty talked your ear off," Jean said with a smile. "She gets carried away." And for the next few hours, Jean walked Silver around the campus. She pointed out the dorms: the east and west wing of the house were for boys and girls, respectively. There was no trespassing on the other gender's living space, she warned her seriously. If she wanted to meet a boy it would be outside or in a co-ed common room. She gave Silver a tour of the girls' dormitory. The rooms were all huge, and slept three or four people. Each had a bathroom the roommates shared. Room assignments were based first on age and secondly on temperament. There were common rooms on each floor with TVs and pianos and microwaves and mini fridges, plus tables and libraries and computers for homework. Dorm common rooms closed at midnight so other students could sleep, but co-ed rooms were open 24 hours a day. The boys' dormitory wing was the same, Jean said, only it smelled worse.

The main house's ground floor consisted of the dining room, the class rooms, and the teachers' offices. Upstairs were co-ed common rooms and recreation rooms, including one ballroom big enough to hold the whole school at once. They used it for movie night on Sundays, and some of the older kids were trying to organize a prom. On the third floor were the flats of the X Men, as well as a few guest suites. Jean mentioned there was a basement level, but it was staff-only.

Silver spent some time observing classes. Dr. McCoy's science room was more lab than anything else. He had a lot of 12 and 13 year old kids handling what looked like lethal chemicals. Every so often the controlled chaos was marked with a small explosion and whoops of delight from the boys.

"Some of us were worried about the kids starting with Chemistry, instead of something safe like biology, but Hank knows what he's doing. He teaches them to like science while they're young, and gives them book learning when they're old enough to sit through it."

In another room, the Professor himself sat at the front of the room in his wheelchair, a book in his lap, and led an animated discussion with his students.

"Intro to Philosophy," Jean explained. "Teens are figuring themselves out anyway, but mutant teens have tons to deal with. The Professor teaches us how to think. We have to make decisions we can live with about how and when we use our powers." Silver watched his class for a long time, wondering if how she'd used her powers over the last month had been something she could live with.

Afterwards, they toured the grounds. The school's property was massive. There were basketball and tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a football field and track, as well as other huge areas dominated by what looked like military obstacle courses.

"Our Phys Ed isn't just about fitness; it's developing our powers too. These courses help us develop our skills." Jean pointed out a distant barn, which was the school's garage, and a well-lit, paved path disappearing into a grove of trees. That was the way to the Professor's private residence and off limits unless it was a matter of life and death with no other X Men available.

"He's at the school almost every moment he's awake, so we let him have his own space when he needs it."

There was a lake big enough to row on, complete with two little piers and about six small boats tied up.

"No using the lake until you've passed a swim test," Jean warned. "We have beach parties in the summer."

As they rounded a corner on their way back to the mansion, they saw yet another obstacle course. Silver's class was using it- she was already beginning to think of them that way, Kitty and Jubilee and the others their age. They wore a unique gym uniform: it looked like a cross between a wetsuit and motorcycle leathers with built in safety pads. A man in red sunglasses was coaching them from the sides, shouting advice and encouragement. When she saw him, Jean relaxed noticeably. Without a word, they headed in that direction.

"Shadowcat, take your time and focus! Speed will come in time- today is about precision!" Kitty stood at the top of a series of wooded platforms. As Silver watched, a look of concentration spread across her face- she fell through the wooden floor she stood on and landed in a heap on the next floor down. Silver realised the practicality of the leather and pads.

"You've got the idea; you just need to slow down and concentrate on your balance! Try again!" Kitty climbed to her feet; again she scowled in concentration. She turned transparent, like a ghost, and fell through the floor she stood on, but this time with a wide stance. As soon as her head was clear, she turned solid again. Feet wide and knees bent, she caught herself. With nothing more than a slight wobble, she stood up straight.

"Perfect! Good job. Now, just keep it up until it's second nature."

Jean and Silver reached the coach in sunglasses, and when he turned and saw them, he grinned.

"You couldn't call when you came in?" Jean demanded, her arms going around his waist.

"You needed to finish your tour and these kids need coaching. I'll tell you all about it at lunch." Though he hugged her, he didn't kiss her and looked rather uncomfortably at Silver. "We haven't been introduced."

"Of course," Jean said wryly. "Scott, meet Silver. She may be enrolling. Silver, this is Scott Summers, otherwise known as Cyclops. He's the Professor's right hand man- sort of a Vice-Principal. And he teaches Phys Ed, of course."

"Nice to meet you," he said in his deep voice, shaking her hand. Obviously Scott and Jean were a couple, and just as obviously he wasn't comfortable trumpeting that around in public. Jean was less reserved.

"Have you made a decision, now you've seen our school?" Jean asked.

"Well," Silver replied, "I still think it's too good to be true and there's a catch I'm not noticing. But until you tell me to drink some Kool-aid, I'm in."

"That's great! Welcome aboard." Jean and Scott both smiled at Silver and she felt herself freely smile back. Maybe there was life after mutation after all.

"How come you haven't got a nickname, Jean?" Silver asked. Jean made a face and Scott laughed.

"She had one when she joined up, but she outgrew it in about a year," he told her. "We're still working on a new one."

"I'd call you Phoenix," said Mirage, who had sidled up to them. "You bring us into our new lives, help us through the hard parts, and you've got that red hair. Transformation and rebirth through fire. That's you."

Jean smiled, blushing.

"Hey! Get back on that field!" Cyclops barked. Mirage scampered off. "It does fit you, Jean," Scott said, gazing into her face.

"We'll see." She smiled back at him, and Silver wondered how she ever could have imagined Jean was with Hank, even from a distance. Jean was clearly crazy about the man next to her. "But for now, we've got a new student, and I've got to get her settled. Don't tell Kitty she's staying or you won't get her to focus for the rest of the day!"

Scott nodded in agreement and turned back to his class, giving Mirage a friendly shove back towards the obstacle course. Silver and Jean started making their way back to the mansion, and as they turned a corner and the old stone building came into view, Jean gave Silver a one-armed hug.

"Welcome home."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Silver spent the next few weeks finding her feet at her new school. October came and went with one of the scariest Halloweens she'd ever known, zombie mobs courtesy of Mirage, and a freezing mist adding spooky luminescence thanks to their literature teacher, Storm. Storm's classes quickly became Silver's favourite, probably because they were so normal. Rather than focus on mutant-centric philosophy or physics, literature classes meant struggling through the same dry books she knew from her High School reading list, and there was something comforting in knowing that somewhere not too far away, her old friends were also muttering curses at Dostoyevsky and Albert Camus.

More and more, as the weeks passed, Silver became preoccupied with Warren. She had never seen him smile, or socialise, with anyone. She rarely heard him talk, other than when a teacher calling him dragged a few begrudged phrases from his lips. He was easily as cute as Bobby and his accent should have made him top dog, but his reticence set him apart and he had no friends. Silver knew that Rogue, the other silent student, spent hours at a time alone with the Professor and Jean in the basement level, but Warren was like any other student. There was nothing remarkable about him, other than his anti-social behaviour and that trench coat.

One day, nauseated with adrenaline, Silver took her breakfast tray not to her usual table with Kitty and Jubilee, but past them to the corner where Warren sat by himself. Kitty's jaw hit the floor and she immediately turned to whisper with Jubilee. Silver did her best to ignore that. She sat down with Warren, who actually stopped with one of his toast strips, dripping yolk, half way to his mouth. Their eyes met. For several moments, neither spoke nor blinked.

"Hi," she said eventually. Warren looked almost comically shocked, but he eventually swallowed, cleared his throat, and put his fork down.

"Hi," he replied.

"I didn't see you at the fun house on Halloween."

"I wasn't there." He stared at her, as if unable to fathom why she was talking to him.

"That would explain it." Silver chewed some omelette. "You know, something about you has been bothering me since I got here. No one can enlighten me, so please don't be offended, but I have to ask this straight out…" Warren's eyes tightened, and he began to scowl. "What the hell are you eating? You're ruining perfectly good toast with raw egg!"

Warren blinked a few times, and then he began to laugh. Once he started, he didn't seem able to stop, and his chuckle became a chortle. It sounded like he was using laughs he had been saving up for years.

"Soldiers!" he gasped, once he could breathe again. "They're called toast soldiers. And they're a perfectly normal breakfast in Britain."

"You know what, Warren? Other kids here think it's weird." Silver leaned in conspiratorially. "You may not have noticed but you don't quite fit in. Maybe if you could eat some cereal, like a normal person, you'd have more friends."

"Silver, that had never occurred to me. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways. I can now be a well-adjusted adolescent." They were grinning at each other. Their conversation flowed normally after that, and breakfast flew by quickly. Warren was not shy at all, but quick and funny. Why had he chosen to be alone?

The promise of his blue eyes, broad shoulders, and cute accent was quickly realised when Silver developed a massive crush on her new friend. She told no one about it, because she didn't want to act on it- at least not right away. After months of isolation, Warren needed a friend more than a romantic complication. Silver decided not to ask him out until he had some more friends. However, her efforts towards getting him to hang out in groups were mostly in vain. Despite his willingness to talk with her, watch movies with her, sit with her at meals, he once again became his silent withdrawn self when other people were around. Silver knew intuitively that his problem was due to his mutant power, but despite their new intimacy she still had no idea herself what it was. He had never volunteered anything. The few times Silver had subtly brought it up, Warren had not-so-subtly shut her down. Silver realised she would have to use less than savoury methods to get the information she wanted- namely, spying.

After putting her head together with Mirage, Silver quickly learned Warren's routine. Due to his parents paying generous tuition, he had a rare private suite on the third floor, complete with a balcony that overlooked the formal gardens behind the house. He 'went to bed' remarkable early. Even though the nights were getting bitterly cold, the window to his private suite usually stayed open for a very long time, usually past midnight. Anyone who has ever been 17 would know he was sneaking out, and Silver had a hunch he was using his powers either to get out or while he was out. He never participated in mutant phys ed, so he must be 'stretching those muscles' in some way or another.

Eventually, throwing caution to the wind, Silver picked a spot in the grounds from which she could see Warren's window but, from the window, she would be masked by shrubberies. She told Kitty and Jubilee that she wanted some privacy, and knowing no one else would miss her, she settled down to wait. The grounds eventually emptied their giggling occupants, and bedroom windows lit up one by one till the mansion was a blaze of light against the inky black night. Warren's window stayed dark, though a movement within proved he was there.

It was late. Silver was beginning to nod off when a sound snapped her alert. Warren's window had been opened with a bit of a scrape and a squeak. The light from other windows glowed behind a silhouette- but it didn't look like Warren. It was huge, bulky, and wide. And then it grew wider and wider and wider, until Silver saw what it was. Wings. What looked like massive feathered wings had stretched from the centre form, and then gracefully, the winged thing swooped down out of the window, flapped the enormous wings once, and then began to climb into the sky. It flew directly over Silver's hiding place, and she got a perfect view, her mouth open in shock. It was Warren.

Bare chested, long golden hair pale in the moonlight, he flew on white feathered wings into the sky, high and low, weaving in out of the low clouds. She suddenly knew the well-developed muscles of his broad shoulders and perfectly defined torso were due to flying. She knew why he was quick and graceful. He was like an eagle, fierce and graceful in flight.

Unthinking, Silver emerged from her hiding spot and stood alone in the centre of a field, watching him fly in the distance. She was mesmerised. None of the other students had physical mutations; most of them looked human and had unseen powers. Not Warren. The secret of Warren's mutation was propelling him among the stars.

Silver was so lost in the dreamlike quality of watching him fly through the night sky that she completely forgot he hadn't wanted anyone to know. So when he flew towards the mansion, over an hour later, and spotted her, she waved to her friend with a huge grin on her face. He dropped to the ground a ways off and walked towards her. She noticed when he walked that his wings folded against his back but not nearly close enough to be invisible under even a bulky coat. He must bind them tightly under that jacket, she thought. By the end of the day, it would be hurting terribly. Silver had had her arm in a cast as a kid and remembered the pain of flexing her wrist the first time it was unbound.

She was so happy to see him and so enamoured of his wings that she didn't understand the scowl on his face.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" He hissed at her.

"Watching you fly. It's amazing!" she said, trying to understand his anger.

"Come to have a good look at the freak show, eh? I hadn't thought that of you, Silver. Everyone else, sure, but not you." He looked deeply wounded.

"What, you think I'm judging you?" she asked blankly. "We're all mutants, Warren."

"None of you are like this! Everyone else here can walk around and no one would ever know. None of you know what it's like to have your secret on the outside, for people to see the second they look at you that you're nature's big joke. Pretty soon, you lot will be able to pack your powers away with your diploma and no one will ever know. But I have to live with this every day. I can never go to the beach, or a gym. I can't take my bloody coat off. I'll never feel a woman put her arms around me. Can you imagine the scream when she felt these?" He gestured with disgust at his wings, as lovely as a swan's. His face was bitter. "So go ahead, get an eyeful, have a laugh, and go back and tell all your girlfriends about the freak." He turned away from her to stride off in anger, but Silver chased after him. She reached a hand out to his bare shoulder, angling it carefully so she didn't touch his wings.

He let her turn him around and stand with her hands on his shoulders, looking up into his face.

"Warren. You're still the same guy you were this morning. And these…" Slowly, so he could pull away if he wanted, she reach out and stroked one feathery wing over his shoulder. "These are beautiful. Warren, you're an angel. You're like Saint Michael- a winged warrior."

Warren's face softened at her unflinching touch. "Saint Michael was an Archangel, actually," he said wryly.

"Whatever," she replied. And, leaning close, she put her cheek on his bare chest and wrapped her arms around him. She felt his pinions brushing her arms, the warmth from his body heating his silky skin, the place under his wings as comforting as anything she could ever imagine.

"See?" she murmured, snuggling him. "No screams."

"I dunno, I think I feel a shriek coming on." His voice was thick with emotion as he tentatively put his arms around her. She shivered at his touch, which he promptly misinterpreted.

"How long have you been out without a coat, you ninny?" he demanded. He pulled away and looked her in the face.

"Um, since dinner?"

"You idiot!" he said, without heat. "You'll catch your death."

"You know, Angel, in the New World we know that germs cause illness, not night air."

"Do you know what causes silly girls getting a slap? Remarks like that one."

"Ooh, check the tough guy without a shirt on." Warren chuckled and threw his trademark coat around her shoulders. He scooped her up in his arms and, in one breathless movement that left Silver's stomach back on the grounds, she was suddenly three stories up standing on Warren's moonlit balcony in the arms of her dream guy. Warren, however, completely missed the romantic potential of the moment. He dropped her gently on her feet and led her inside.

"You're all clammy. Get in the toilet and get your clothes off. Put these on." He gave her one of his shirts and some sweatpants. Dutifully, not wanting to argue as the night had gone so well, she changed into his things. They swamped her, but they were cosy.

"So, what's your wing span?" she asked curiously as she plopped down in his bed.

"Is that a pick up line, or are you just really tactless?" he asked, grinning. "C'mon, you're going to bed."

Once again, he swept her up, walked to the balcony, and launched them into the night. Riding in his arms felt effortless. After the first few beats of his wings, they travelled smoothly, the wings doing all the work and his arms holding her safely. He flew high in the air, over the top of the mansion, and down to the back door of the girls' dorm.

"You'll get your clothes back tomorrow," he told her. "Now go to bed!" and leaving her to let herself in, he flew back in the air and disappeared towards the boys' dorms.

"Wow," she breathed. She dutifully went to her room and got in her PJ's, careful not to awaken her softly snoring roommates. But instead of trying to sleep, she turned on her discreet bedside lamp, pulled out her sewing kit, and took Warren's shirt in her hands. She began to work.

When they sat down in class the next day, Warren dumped her clothes from the night before on her desk, and Silver pulled his (neatly folded) from her bag and handed them over. Mirage wolf whistled at them.

"Long night, you two?" he called, and the class laughed.

"Warren, you're blushing," Silver teased, unbothered by her classmates.

"Of course I'm blushing," he retorted. "I'm English. If I weren't red, I'd be transparent."

"Right, settle down," Dr McCoy said, setting a briefcase on his desk. As order was called, Silver grinned to herself. She couldn't wait till lunch!

Jubilee took Silver aside in the lunch line, and talked to her in a low and earnest voice. "Are you ditching us for that boy again, Silver? I know you've got some secret mission to make him fit in but Kitty's starting to think you don't like her anymore. You haven't sat with us in weeks. It really isn't cool."

Silver smiled at her. "Last time, Jubilee. Tomorrow I'm back with the girls. My secret mission will be accomplished before 5th period."

At lunch, instead of grabbing a table with Warren, she took him by the wrist and started pulling him outside. No one had eaten outside since October, due to it being stupidly cold, so when they reached the out of doors, they were in perfect privacy.

"Look! Look what I did to your shirt!" cried Silver, unable to contain herself.

"What, did you get make-up on it or something?" he asked, a smile twitching the corner of his mouth. He held it up, looking at the front. "It's the same."

"Look at the back!" she urged.

When he turned it around, his face went blank. For hours last night, Silver had worked. She cut and hemmed two slits in the back of his shirt. The bottoms of the hems contained magnetic strips, sealing the bottom of two long, narrow holes. Wings would be able to fit out through those holes, the shirt would close itself beneath them.

"Try it on, Warren, please? I worked on it all night!"

"You should've been studying for the Chemistry test…" he muttered, but he still grudgingly lowered his bags and unbuttoned his jacket.

Under the jacket was a grossly over-sized T shirt, and under that was something that looked a lot like the restraints used on mental patients. Wide leather straps wrapped around his chest and stomach, and up and over his shoulders. His wings were squashed against his body. The tips of his longest pinions trailed low against his calves, which explained why he wore such a long coat.

Silver helped him unfasten the buckle on the restraints. It came off in one smooth motion, and he immediately stretched his wings are far as they could go. "Cramp," he said sheepishly.

"This should help with that." She smiled at him, encouraging.

He slipped the shirt over his head, and with a tug, the back settled over his wings and the magnetic strips snapped shut. He had dressed himself, in a shirt that left his wings free, in moments. He tugged at the collar, rolled his shoulders, and smiled.

"It fits."

"It is your shirt," she reminded him, grinning. "So you gonna wear it now?"

"Silver, I really love it. I'll wear it every night."

"I was hoping you'd wear it for the rest of the day. I can do this to all your shirts, if you want. They'll all fit the real you, for a change."

"Where did you get the magnetic strips?" he asked, curiously.

"Don't look to close at the mini fridge in our common room. Come on, Warren, please? Will you wear it today?"

He grimaced. "Look, Silver, I appreciate the thought but I just don't know-"

"Warren, you are a freak. At a school full of freaks that was itself specifically built to house freaks. Do you think you're so special that you'll be the only kid teased about their powers? Get over yourself!"

Warren flushed again. His pasty English complexion made it easy to tell when he was feeling anything.

"You'll do yourself an injury wearing that stupid brace. If you can't be yourself here, where can you?"

Warren didn't say anything, but he rolled up his coat and harness and stuffed them in his back pack, which he couldn't put on, but carried in one hand.

"You really should get a satchel with a strap, instead," Silver said coolly as they walked back inside the cafeteria. She tried to appear nonchalant as they walked in. So did Warren. But mutants or not, high school is high school, and a set of huge angel wings do not go unnoticed.

All eyes were on Warren as they walked back in. Giving him a meaningful glance, Silver grabbed her lunch tray and sat down with her friends. Warren followed.

"So, Chem test: stupidly hard or did Dr McCoy give us the wrong test?" Silver asked, digging into her mystery meat.

"Oh no, I thought it was so easy! Seriously, was it hard? Oh man, that means I thought I was doing it right but was doing it totally wrong. If I drop any lower in Chem, I might have to re-sit over the summer and Hank hates it when that happens…" Kitty was off on her monologue, Silver nodding along, while Jubilee looked curiously at Warren.

"The loner makes friends?"

"It's been known to happen," he replied.

"Well, I'm just glad you finally gave us Silver back," Jubilee said with a grin. "I couldn't handle Kitty on my own any longer."

Kitty and Jubilee were only the beginning. Over the course of lunch, what seemed like most of the school visited the table, and ostensibly, the only thing that was brought up about Warren was his shift away from anti-social behaviour. Perhaps the students of Mutant High were more perceptive than Silver had given them credit for, she was thinking- that is, until their table was approached by Bobby 'Iceman' Drake and his cronies. He spoke lightly to the girls, flirted a bit with Kitty, before turning to Angel and looking him full in the face. Warren stood up.

"Look, man, I just want you to know, I understand." Warren's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't want anyone to know either, if I were the result of my mother's torrid affair with a feather pillow…" He grinned, and Warren just stared at him. Then, Bobby raised one finger and rested it lightly on the centre of Warren's chest.

"Ice on your shirt! Haha!" he suddenly shouted, and, laughing, he sprinted out of the cafeteria, his posse following him.

Warren picked at his shirt, shaking off the frost Bobby's touch had left.

"I'm going to need another one of these for tomorrow," he said, smiling at Silver. "How big is that fridge?"


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Warren's introduction to society had gone so well, Silver didn't have to wait to ask him to the Thanksgiving formal at all. He asked her the very next day. Silver, Jubilee and Kitty went into Albany and bought formal gowns. Jubilee got something form-fitting, black, and shiny. Kitty's dress was a baby pink thing that floated and swirled, and Silver ended up with a cream 50's-style prom dress with a sparkly bodice. Warren was the only guy at the formal to have his own tux; the other boys made do with rentals and spiffed up suits. There was your average amount of inappropriate dancing, a few crying girls, and even a scuffle between two guys. The only difference between Xavier's and any other high school was that the fight was more serious than just fists. Bobby kissed Kitty for the first time at the dance and the next day, she announced proudly on Facebook that she was In A Relationship.

The Thanksgiving formal was the last big event of the semester. The first half of December they would cram for finals, and after the 15th, students scattered. Some, like Kitty and Bobby, had happy homes to return to, either hiding their powers with ease or using them deftly in secret; a few lucky students had families that didn't mind. Storm went for one of her bi-annual trips back to her home in Kenya. Scott and Jean became the house parents to waifs like Jubilee and Silver, who couldn't just 'go home'. Jean did convince Silver to get in touch with her parents.

"I know you're scared," she told the teen. "But they are your parents, and they love you. By now the police have told them you're dead. Do you really want them to believe that on Christmas Morning?"

So, with her heart in her throat and her boyfriend, known as Angel, at her side, Silver picked up the phone, made the number untraceable, and called home. Her parents had been without her for months. She didn't know what to say to them.

"Hello?" came her mother's voice. It was tight, like she was stressed. Maybe she always sounded like that now, Silver thought with guilt.

"Hi, mom? It's me, Ellie."

"Ellie?"

"Yeah, it's me. I know you won't believe me, but listen to my voice! It is me, I swear."

"I know my own daughter's voice! Oh, Ellie!" and her mother began to cry. Silver's guilt increased ten fold. Her mom called for her father, and she could hear his heavy footsteps as he ran to the phone.

When she had them both on the line, she didn't really know what to tell them other than the truth- or, at least, a version of it where she wasn't so cruel as to hide from her parents for weeks while they thought she was dead.

"I was walking home, and, I can't remember too well, but the ground shook and I fell down- I think there might have been an explosion- and I blacked out. And when I came to, I was at this school…" Ellie described the mansion as if she didn't know where it was located, but stressed her good friends, and the delicious food, and that she was still in school. "I couldn't remember anything at first, and it's been coming back little by little. I only just got details like my phone number back." At this, Warren rolled his eyes. He thought partial amnesia was trite.

"But I have bad news, too," Silver told her parents slowly. "See, I'm- I'm a mutant, too. That's why the other mutant- the one that got away?- That's why he attacked me. He thinks all mutants are bad."

"You're… You're a mutant? My little girl?" her dad stammered, shocked. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I wasn't sure if I was or not, until I got here and the teachers explained everything." She took a deep breath. "I'm learning to control it so I'm not dangerous, and I can't come home until I'm perfect at controlling it. I hope you can understand that."

Her mother heaved a deep breath. "Honey, I am so sorry to hear you're sick! But I'm glad you're doing the responsible thing, and I'm so glad you're in a place that can help you." Silver thought her mother was reacting as if she'd announced she had AIDS, rather than that she a mutant. Still, at least they hadn't hung up, as Mirage's parents had done.

"Are you sure you can't come home, even for Christmas?" her mother asked.

"Alice, if she says she can't, she can't. You don't know what sort of things she can do. I'm sure Ellie is doing the safest thing for all of us, right honey?"

"Exactly, dad," she said, choking up. She grabbed Warren's hand. This was what she had dreaded: hearing the fear in her father's voice. She was already deft at controlling her silver plasma effusions, but she needed more time to adjust to her parents' fear. "I promise to stay in touch with phone calls and emails and I'll come see you as soon as… as soon as it would be okay."

"Oh that's great, kiddo, that's just fine. We'll see you then." Her father sounded relieved and it broke Silver's heart.

"I, uh, gotta go. I've got a history final. I could still go to college so I don't want to mess it up now!" After perfunctory goodbyes, Silver hung up the phone. Tears trickled down her cheek, and Warren put his arms around her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed. Really, it went well. I think I'll go home after graduation."

"Silver, you'll be ready by the end of this year. Why wait?"

"Because they aren't ready." She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"That's really gross, you know?" Angel said, handing her a tissue. She grinned and wiped her face. "I didn't know your name."

"Angel, please call me Silver. I can't be Ellie right now."

"Whatever you say, Silver."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

A few days later, finals over and Christmas break fast approaching, the small group of friends were chatting for one of the last times before everyone scattered.

"I'm looking at my schedule for next semester and I am totally booked! I've got all this AP stuff PLUS I've actually got to start taking an art class or my parents will figure out I'm not a sculptor! I was hoping I could keep up my music lessons but I don't know if I can with everything else I have to do." Kitty fretted.

"Oh, come on, Kitty, there's always room for Cello!" Bobby cracked. She sniffed.

"You are so immature, Bobby."

Angel joined his friends at the table. "The trip to New York City has just been confirmed. Times Square, Macy's, and all the trimmings. I think Jean said she would work it so we could see a performance of the Christmas Carol on Broadway."

"What a snooze!" Bobby snorted

"AND it'll count as a Fine Art credit so we can skip going to the Ballet in Albany in March!" Angel added with a vicious grin

"Oh, man!" Bobby groaned. "But my flight home is already booked! This is so lame."

"Enjoy the ballet, Iceman," Silver laughed. He buried his head in his hands and sighed theatrically.

"Who's on the trip?" Jubilee asked.

"You, me, Angel, Rogue and Mirage. Jean and Scott are coming but in an unofficial capacity- I think that Hank is the responsible one on this trip. I heard the Prof might come, too." Silver sipped her hot chocolate. "It should be fun- but if Mirage sings 'Feliz Navidad' the whole way there I'm going to have to hurt him."

"He only does it to wind you up," Angel objected. "Why do you let it get to you?"

"Because he sings it REALLY BADLY!" Jubilee and Silver said together. The friends at the table dissolved into laughter. Eventually, Bobby stood up and extended his hand to Kitty.

"Our taxi goes in an hour. Kitty, if you want your Christmas present, come and get it now," and Kitty went with him from the hall, pausing to hug her girlfriends goodbye for the holidays.

"What're the odds her Christmas present is a nice selection of hickies?" Mirage cracked. Angel snorted his eggnog and the boys devolved into a food fight, while the girls hid under the lunch table shrieking with laughter and advice.

A few days later, they were laughing again, this time at the sight of Jubilee forced to wear a woolly hat with baubles.

"You refused to pack suitable attire for the inclement weather Storm warned you about," Hank said, trying to hide his smile, "so as a responsible mentor it was my obligation to provide you with suitable apparel." Warren grinned as he snapped pictures. "I think it looks rather fetching," Hank added.

" 'Hats, scarves, and gloves are not negotiable'!" Mirage taunted Jubilee in Storm's voice.

"Mirage, that's enough!" Scott said sharply, and the illusion of Storm vanished. "No powers in public, how many times do I have to say it?"

"At least once more, as always!" Mirage cracked, sweeping Cyclops a low bow. Cyclops cuffed him on the back of the head.

"Are we ready for our secret outing?" Warren asked, stomping his feet. "It's getting really cold."

"This is why you were advised to wear layers," Hank warned them, pulling his own ear flaps down. He led the group from the sidewalk outside of their hotel down through the crowds of last-minute Christmas shoppers.

"These people are such jerks," Silver muttered, dodging the hobos and spit on the streets.

"What, New Yorkers?" Warren asked. He seized her hand to lead her through the crush- at over six feet, he could see over the top. Silver was lost in a sea of shoulders.

"No, the people who leave Christmas shopping to the week before. We should be able to relax and enjoy the lights but they're contaminating my spirit with their humbuggery and stress!"

"Humbuggery and stress? I have a new favourite phrase." Angel took that moment to slip on some ice and land hard on his butt. The group stopped and had a good laugh at him as he sheepishly regained his feet.

"Can't blame Iceman this time!" Mirage hooted.

"I can and I will! Dammit Bobby, pranking me from a distance." Warren smiled with good humour. After Bobby had first frosted his shirt, Warren had become the first person to ever retaliate, in a twist on Bobby's favourite prank. Iceman had begun to pull on his boot for gym class, stopped, and removed his foot from the boot with a look of chagrin. His sock was smeared in brown goo.

"Oh no! Peanut butter in your shoe!" Warren had exclaimed. "Who would do that?" And so it had begun. Now the two were egging each other to ever-greater heights of physical humour.

Hank led them down into the subway, but rather than go to a platform, Hank had a word with Mirage, and they snuck through an unused door while Mirage cast the illusion of an empty corner.

Hank had led them into what could only be called a sewer. It was dark, dank, and slimy, and the sounds of scuttling things rustled past them in the shadows.

"What are we doing here?" Jubilee demanded, shaking muck from her Doc Martins with consternation.

"Spreading some holiday cheer," Hank said, starting to hum a carol. Large sacks swung from one bulging arm, a lantern from the other.

"Inverse wassailing. How novel," and then Mirage raised his own questionable voice in song. Soon all the party was singing cheerfully as they stomped through puddles and wound through the tunnels under New York. Above their heads, people cocked their heads and looked for the source of such an unlikely rendition of "Ding Dong Merrily on High".

"I'm only going to demonstrate one more time- it's _'glo-o-o-o-o-o-o, o-o-o-o-o-o, o-o-o-o-o-o, o-o-o-o-o-o, o-o-o-o-ri-a, Hosanna en excelsis!_' Like Hark the Herald Angels Sing but faster, higher, and with two more sets of 'oh's. Are we clear?"

"Ya, mein Kaiser!" Mirage declared, snapping Angel a salute.

"Right, last time, and no more screw ups!" and a terrible warbling of three screechy sopranos, three struggling tenors, and Beast rumbling along as bass filled the sewers with a rather painful, if joyful, noise. Rogue, though with them, didn't sing.

"Can it," came a strange voice. Silver whipped her head around, looking for the source. The whole party halted and Beast raised the lantern above his head to spread the light. Scott pulled Jean close to him. "Who are you and what do you want here?"

"You know us," Scott said in his clear leader's voice. "We're the X-Men, and we've come with Christmas presents for the kids- just like we said we would. Xavier told you we were coming."

"What's an X-Man and when did I become one?" Mirage asked in a whisper. Warren put his arms protectively around Silver's shoulders- which was rather foolish, as she would need her hands free to defend herself were the situation to arise. An acknowledging grunt echoed from a side cavern. A form began to move in the shadows as if to join them.

"Guard your reactions," Jean told them in a soft voice. "We've come to visit other mutants. These people are physically marked by their mutations, so they can't live openly." Silver felt Warren stiffen at her side. "They are just like us. Don't embarrass us by treating them any differently." And all nodded or murmured their understanding.

The man who came out of the shadows was huge, larger even than Beast. His massive arms, like tree trunks, let his knuckles drag almost on the ground like an ape. His brow bone was protruding and his eyebrows must have stuck out at least 6 inches from his head- though it looked more like twelve. He walked along in a gorilla-like shuffle, using his long arms to help his rather underdeveloped short legs.

"What'd you bring?" he asked in an animalistic grunt.

"You, sir, are over age, and therefore Santa isn't as concerned with you," Beast replied, clapping the stranger on the shoulder. "But you may find the makings of a rather excellent holiday feast for the whole family." The stranger grinned and led them towards a distant light in the sewers.

When they had reached the mysterious light source, Silver looked around, completely bemused. It was more than the Ninja Turtles ever dreamed of. An abandoned subway station had been converted into a dwelling for what looked like around two dozen people. There were discarded couches and tables everywhere, covered in brightly patterned pillows and throws to disguise the shabbiness of the more substantial pieces. Some corridors had haphazard doors, and Silver guessed they led to dorm rooms. The old subway bathrooms had no doors on the frames, but the stalls were intact and anyone could use one. A generator put out paltry amounts of heat and a monstrous racket. Christmas lights joined the sickly fluorescent yellow from the ceiling. Silver wondered how much of their things had been stolen, and remembered with guilt her own few weeks as a thief. Who was she to judge how these people lived? Especially as, looking around her, she realised what Jean had told them was true. None of the mutants here could walk into a grocery store. There was a man who looked like a Hobbit crossed with a proboscis monkey, a woman so long and thin and sticklike that she shouldn't have been able to support her own frame. Children around ten years old, just showing their powers, chased each other through the hallways and twinkling Christmas lights. One was green and scaled and looked like a human gecko. Silver looked with guilt at her own hair hanging over her shoulder, her skin. How could she complain? She was one of the lucky ones. Warren squirmed next to her. Silver imagined he was pondering similarly uncomfortable reflections.

A woman, tall and heavily built with bluntly chopped hair and an eye patch, approached them, and gazed lingeringly on Scott before turning to Beast. "Welcome to the halls of the Morlocks," she said.

Morlocks! These were the mutant terrorists that had perpetrated the attacks in New York when Silver was younger, that had driven her to hide her powers. Her first thought was to be scared, but she realised she wasn't. She knew too well now what it was to be a mutant. Maybe one of them hadn't known enough to control their powers, or had been chased by a mob and only meant to defend themselves. Maybe they had been attacked, and the explosion was entirely the work of the Friends of Humanity or a similar hate group. Whatever the circumstances, Silver got the impression that the press hadn't been right about this shabby group of misfits beneath their streets.

"What do you think her power is, looking like a pirate?" Mirage whispered, and Silver coughed hard, trying not to laugh.

"A pleasure as always," Beast replied. "How have you been?"

She shrugged. "We survive. But where is our fearless leader?" her mouth twisted at these words.

"Ororo is visiting her family in Kenya, but she sends her best. Shall I bear the same message back to her?"

"Of course," the pirate lady replied. "Can I take your coats?" Jubilee, whose lips were turning blue despite her unlined trench, looked horrified at the thought.

"I'll lose mine," Warren said suddenly. He shrugged out of his great coat, and unbuckled his harness. As he spread his wings, a few eyes flicked to give him a cursory glance. No one stared. He smiled. "I hate feeling bound."

"Don't we all," the pirate replied in her raspy voice.

"Cyclops!" the little lizard mutant ran for Scott and threw himself around his waist. Cyclops smiled and hugged him back.

"Hello, Leech," he said. "How have you been?"

"Okay," the boy replied, sucking at one finger. "You bring me presents?"

"Santa," Jean corrected him. "Santa brought presents for everyone but he needed to get back to the North Pole so we're delivering them."

And then, everything happened so quickly that Silver was never sure if her memories of it were correct. Beast suddenly turned, snarling, at something Silver could not perceive. Acting on Beast's reaction, Jean and Cyclops too turned towards the unseen menace. Cyclops grabbed at the boy around his waist and almost threw him at Mirage, shouting "Keep him away from us!" Mirage, never questioning when Cyclops used that tone, fled with the boy to a far corner of the room, and called all the other kids to him. Leech clung to him, terrified, staring in the direction that had so absorbed Beast. Jubilee flung her sunglasses down over her eyes and her hands flexed into claws, and, seeing the reaction of her friends, Silver too crouched low and freed her hands from her gloves. She felt the tingling in her palms that meant she was ready to fight. Rogue, for the first time since Silver had known her, ripped off her gloves.

All of this happened in a split second, and something throwing sparks flew into the common room of the Morlocks, who had all frozen in confusion. That blazing flash of sparks wheeled into their midst and then, suddenly exploded. Those nearest were flung across the room and everyone else staggered to their knees, dazed, shielding their eyes. Warren grabbed Silver by the collar and snatched her to his chest, wrapping his great wings around the both of them. The shock wave blew past her feet but the rest of her was untouched.

Beast charged into the direction the explosion had come from, his teeth bared. Silver had never seen anything as terrifying as a man of Beast's size in a towering fury. Jean whipped Scott's visor from her purse and handed it to him. Silver saw his face without glasses for a split second, his eyes squeezed tight, before his visor obscured his eyes again.

Jean followed Beast into the tunnel, and so did Scott as soon as his visor was secure. Without thinking about it, Jubilee, Silver, Angel, and Rogue followed them, as Mirage's voice echoed after them, "Oh sure, leave me to baby-sit!"

By the time they were lost in the dark ahead of them, the younger generation realised they had charged head first into danger without any idea of what they were challenging and not even their gym uniforms to protect them. No one thought for a second of returning, but they were all going over their lessons in their minds, remembering what they were best at and what they needed the most help with.

A creeping slimy thing with a long tongue jumped at Jubilee, knocking her to the ground. Without thought, without hesitation, without knowing what she was doing, Silver brought her hands up and energy burst from the palms of her hands. It knocked into the toad thing without hitting Jubilee at all (and Silver told herself she would thank Scott for making her practice aim and precision).

"What the hell was that thing?" Jubilee demanded, crawling to her feet.

"I dunno," Silver replied, completely shaken.

"Ya'll keep yer eyes open," Rogue said in her deep southern drawl, "and yer mouths shut. There's gonna be more of 'em." She stepped back into deep shadow and faded from view. Warren turned this way and that, looking for a source of danger. Further down the tunnel, another light flashed, and they headed toward the explosion. And then they were struck by the most horrible racket in the world- a sound so overwhelming they all fell to the ground, clutching at their heads. No one could move. In her writhing, Silver saw a mutant, purple and black skinned, with his mouth open so far he must have dislocated his jaw. From that horrible maw, the sound emanated. Silver saw the Toad hop up along side him, and prepare to attack again. Silver felt sure she wouldn't be able to defend herself, because if she bared her ears to the sound she'd die.

Then, a small white hand touched the purple man on the face. He stopped the terrible sound, his eyes wide, and then fell to ground in a faint. Behind him stood Rogue, her face pale but determined. Free from the noise, Warren flew at the Toad and ploughed into him with both hands. The Toad was flung against the ground and then hopped, croaking, away from them and into the dark.

Rogue was standing still as the grave, staring at her hands.

"Rogue, are you okay?" Jubilee asked, extending an arm to her.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted in a voice that rattled their teeth. "No one can ever touch me! Muh powers will suck the life right outta ya." Rogue looked at them with tears streaking down her face.

"That's what you do? You absorb from people you touch."

"Powers first on mutants, energy too," she replied. "An' if Ah hold on too long- if Ah can't let go-" and then she started to wail in anguish.

"Rogue, what happened to you?"

"Ah killed her! She'll never wake up and she's just layin' there, in that hospital, a machine doin' her breathin' for her, and she'll never see her family again, or the sunrise- Ah as good as killed her, and now she's in muh head an' Ah hear her all the time- Oh Carol, Ah'm so sorry!"

Out of the dark, Mirage approached them. He wordlessly handed Rogue her gloves. She put them on and her friends stood around her until her shaking shoulders stilled. The explosions had stilled in the distance, and the young mutants stood in the quiet dark.

"They're all in muh head," Rogue said finally. "Every person Ah've touched since the day Ah turned thirteen. All their voices shoutin' at me, so Ah can't even hear muh own thoughts, or know which ones are really mine." She stood up. "An' Carol's the worst. Ah didn't want to hold on so long but muh mama held my hands on her and Ah couldn't pull away. And then Carol was jus' layin' there, still as the grave. And she hasn't moved since." Rogue looked at them. "Ah can do what she could do- her powers are mine to keep, now. Ah can fly. Ah could throw a car if Ah wanted. But Ah won't. It's like Ah've murdered her to steal her life. The Professor has been helpin' me calm the voices, and shut them away, and know which one is mine. But Ah can always hear Carol."

"I wish I had known," Jubilee said quietly. "I always thought you were just a bitch."

And for some reason, that struck them all as hilarious. As Rogue allowed herself to chuckle, they all did, till their laughter rang out in the halls all the way back to the Morlocks.

"Where have you been? What kept you?" Cyclops demanded. He was standing over a struggling captive, tied up at his feet.

"A toad and a loudmouth," Jubilee replied.

Jean had a split lip and was favouring one leg as she examined the back of Beast's neck. "I'm glad to see you're all safe, although Mirage, I'm pretty sure we told you to stay here."

"Who says I didn't? This could all be an illusion!"

"Leech's power is that he negates ours. I gave him to you so I could use my eyes, and you've held on to him so long your powers won't be back for about an hour."

"No powers? For a whole hour?" Rogue asked, her eyes hungry.

"Leech, could you please hold hands with Rogue?" Scott asked, compassion in his eyes. And Leech stood with his hand in Rogue's, still sucking his finger. "Give it a few minutes, Rogue," he told her.

"What are we going to do about this one?" Beast asked, thumbing at the captive sat at Scott's feet. Silver looked at him. He was a young man, maybe twenty, with long hair falling into his strange eyes- black with red pupils. He glared at Beast.

"I tol' you, Gambit didn't do anything wrong! I am a thief, not a killer!" He spoke in an accent Silver had never heard before, a southern drawl mixed with French. "All I know is that I was going to get a share of whatever treasure was down here if I could find a way to sneak his people in."

"He lied," Cyclops snarled. "There isn't any treasure down here, just frightened people you nearly killed!"

"I didn't know," the thief said again. "Gambit never hurt nobody, 'cept people tryin' to hurt him."

"Anybody ever told you that it don't matter what you meant, but what you did, swamp boy?" Rogue said. Apparently her silence was now broken. Silver wondered what the 'swamp boy' comment was about.

"C'mon, _cher_, you never hurt no one on accident?" he replied. "I bet you done lots; all dem broken hearts, _non_?"

"Who hired you?" Beast asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Old guy, white hair- called himself Magneto." Gambit made a face. "He tol' me all I have to do is find a way in and open it up for his muscle, an' I could have anything I want, up to ten percent off the top. Said this place a cache for white collar types, robbin' vacation homes."

"We've got to tell Professor Xavier," Jean said, looking at Hank. "He's lost all reason now. He makes Malcom X look like Dr. King."

"The professor must know already; he had lunch with him yesterday!"

"We don't just dive into every mind we encounter, Scott. The Professor would never invade his oldest friend." She frowned. "The worst bit it he's trying to deceive us. Magnus has lost his mind if he thinks we would approve."

"I imagine that's why Professor Xavier asked us to be here today," Beast suggested, tentatively stretching. "He would have sensed not everything was right with Magnus and taken steps to place us here when the Morlocks might need us."

"Then why not confront Magneto?" Cyclops demanded.

"Because he still hopes to reason with him," Jean answered. "If we confront Magnus, we burn that bridge forever. Next time we'll stand toe to toe against him."

"Not an idea I relish," Beast added, still wincing. He was still testing his muscles.

"Excuse me for asking, teach, but what are you guys talking about?" Mirage demanded. "You bring us down here with ulterior motives and we're blind in a fight that was pretty freaking serious from our end."

"We are the X-Men," Cyclops told him. "Professor Xavier takes us on after we graduate, trains us up a bit more, and sends us out on special missions."

"The whole basement layer is your command central, isn't it?" Mirage guessed.

"Yes, it is," Jean told him.

"What kind of missions?" Jubilee asked.

"Finding new students, mutants in dire situations or with dangerous powers. Fighting renegade mutants who can't be stopped by the police alone. And, like today, doing our best to make sure that mutants and humans have some chance of living together in peace, some day."

"And who's Magneto?" Angel asked.

"He used to be the Professor's best friend," Beast sad sadly, "but Magnus feels that there can be no peace between human and mutant, and he's turned towards a more violent path than we feel necessary. He's convinced there's a war brewing, and he's doing everything he can to make sure our side has the advantage- even to the point of instigating the first battle as long as he knows he can win."

"And we do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen," Cyclops said grimly, his visor flashing.

"What was he trying to pull today? Seems a pretty bad joke, sending thieves in here," Jubilee added.

"It wasn't a joke and they weren't thieves. Magnus sent six thugs- eight counting your two- down here to kill the Morlocks."

"What! Why?" Silver exclaimed, as Gambit protested "Seven- I am no killer!"

"The Morlocks turned him down. They just want to be left alone. They aren't interested in his army. And he has a 'with me or against me' attitude." Jean sighed. "We've offered the Morlocks a place at the school but all we've ever convinced is a few young kids. They're separatists."

"What can we do to help them?" Mirage asked.

"Bring them Christmas Dinner," Beast replied, smiling, "and I suggest we carry on with that."

"What about this one?" Angel asked, kicking at Gambit.

"We need to take him to the professor," Cyclops said. "He'll have questions that need reliable answers. Till then, leave him tied up and keep an eye on him."

Rogue took her gloves off and tentatively stroked Leech's face, her skin on his. He smiled up at her.

"What present did Santa bring me?" he asked.

Rogue smiled from ear to ear from that moment on. She chatted cheerfully to everyone, flitting about the Morlock's make-shift kitchen, stuffing the turkey and preparing the giblets (even though everyone assured her that above the Mason-Dixon line, they were not eaten by human beings). She touched everyone- a hand on their shoulder or elbow, a light punch on the arm to tease. She even chucked the men under the chin, revealing herself to be quite the flirt. All the time, Leech trailed her, and she gave him little bits of Christmas candy every five minutes or so.

"I wish we could take him with us," Silver sighed, looking at the two of them. "Who knew Rogue could smile? Or laugh?"

"He's not a pet," Cyclops contradicted. "Leech is comfortable here. He has a standing offer at the school but he doesn't want to leave his family."

"Family?"

"How do you define your family these days?" Jean asked sadly. "We're all orphans one way or another."

The X-Men and Morlocks sat down to a long row of mismatched picnic tables. The pirate looking woman carved the bird, and huge platters of steaming food were passed up and down the line. Halfway through the meal, Rogue looked at their captive, still tied up and sitting sullen in a corner. Every few minutes his stomach grumbled. She got up and went to him.

"Even swamp rats should be allowed Christmas dinner," she said as she untied him.

He stood up, chaffing his wrists. "How can I thank you, _cher_?" he asked. And without waiting for an answer, he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her deeply. Rogue blinked in astonishment for a moment, and then slapped him with full force. He rubbed his jaw wryly.

"Perhaps Gambit is a bit forward for a _belle_ like you."

"That blow should have killed him!" Jean exclaimed.

"Leech negates all her powers," Cyclops reminded her.

"Well, at least she got something out of it," Mirage declared, shovelling cranberry sauce. "I mean, I wasn't gonna kiss her but she deserves to have somebody do it. Now Silver doesn't have to share Angel."

Silver threw a bread roll at Mirage.

The students learned more about what it was to be X-Men after dinner, when the Professor called Scott with rendezvous coordinates that weren't the hotel. To their surprise, a jet was waiting for them. They and Gambit, whom Rogue had insisted on re-tying, were flown back upstate in less than 30 minutes. Xavier disappeared with Gambit downstairs and the students sat in a common room, reliving their adventure.

"I want to be down there, hearing what Magneto is up to!" Mirage declared. "I want to know what we're up against."

"We aren't up against anything, remember?" Silver told him. "We aren't X Men yet- we can't be until after we graduate."

"But we've trained plenty and been in a fight!" Jubilee almost shouted. "Why are we being treated like infants?"

"For the same reason you can't join the army till you're 18- because it's dangerous and we're underage," Warren said. "Get some perspective, Jubilee- do you really want to risk your life every time you step off these grounds? I just want to be able to live a normal life."

"Ditto," Silver agreed.

"Well, maybe you aren't cut out to be X Men," she flared.

"I thought you had to be selected? Because it's not like Xavier handed you a written invitation."

"Quit fighting!" Mirage said sharply. "You can be approached or volunteer but none of us need to decide for another year- or two, as in my case," he added glumly.

"What about you, Rogue?" Silver asked. "Are you X Man material?"

"Ah reckon Ah ain't got nowhere else to go," she said. "Ah've burnt some bridges on muh way here, an' Ah don't reckon Ah can make it too long without the Prof's help. He's made muh life liveable, and for that, Ah'll help him out any way Ah can. Ah'll be an X-Man."

"The X-Men! Now featuring Cyclops, Beast, Storm, Rogue, and Mirage!" Mirage jumped up and struck a pose.

"And Jubilee!" Jubilee threw a pillow at Mirage. And then a pillow fight ensued.

On Christmas Eve, Angel and Silver were sitting up in front of a fire in the common room.

"Storm is taking us to Britain over the last week of the Easter Holidays," Angel said suddenly. "My parents have offered to open our holiday home in Kent to final year students. There's going to be Shakespeare in our future."

"Fun," she replied.

"I've been thinking a lot about the Morlocks. I want to help them."

"Fund a second school. Your family can take the hit."

"No, I mean, really help them. Not just manage our condition but cure it."

"Cure?"

"There are two doctors already looking into the mutant situation. Moira MacTaggart in Scotland and some bloke called Adler, in Germany. I've already been corresponding with Dr. MacTaggart. When I'm of age I'll talk to Adler too. Anyway, MacTaggart's done some amazing things already with gene therapy." He sipped his tea. "She and the Professor maintain a correspondence."

"I still like history as a career. I couldn't handle medical school. Maybe the Prof would let me be a history teacher here."

"We could use one," Warren said. "You know, they've found some hieroglyphics that could suggest there were mutants in ancient Egypt? Like 5,000 years ago. But the Egyptians must've found a way to stop the spread of it, because there weren't any more till this century."

"That we know of," Silver corrected him. "Hm, an examination of historical persons from a post-mutant perspective. There's a thesis."

"You could look into it."

"What's this Egyptian thing like?"

"You're asking me? It said on the program that the only word archaeologists could recognise was something that basically meant Apocalypse. Probably thought mutants were the end of the world."

Silver leaned back in the couch and started into the fire. "Maybe we're only the beginning."


End file.
